It has been only 6 years since the container revolution altered general cargo shipping on the ocean trade routes. Sea-Land, by announcing its intention of serving the North Atlantic trade route, spurred intensive readjustment by ports and shipping interestes and thrust into the forefront—the containership. The rapid evolution of the containership as a unique carrier is traced. The demands for specialized port facilities to keep pace with the realities of service are explored in some depth. It is demonstrated that the container system of today is not an end in itself, it is a way-point in the evolution of a means of cargo handling.